Academic Honesty

The University expects that students will conduct themselves with honesty and integrity.

Academic Offenses

Cheating. Cheating is defined as the fraudulent or deceptive taking, giving, or presenting of any information or material with the intent of aiding oneself or another on any academic work which is considered in any way in the determination of a course grade.

Plagiarism. Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional act of submitting the work of another as one’s own. It includes the submission of the complete or partial work, or of the words, ideas, or format of another, published or unpublished, without appropriate reference and source credit. It includes employing or permitting another person to produce, alter, or revise material which the student submits as his or her own. If the student has any uncertainty regarding plagiarism in the submission of any material to his or her instructor, he or she should discuss the matter with the instructor prior to submission of the material.

Forgery. Forgery is falsely recording the signature of an advisor, instructor, or any university official on any official University academic document.

Sanctions for Academic Offenses

Sanctions for Academic Offenses One or more of the following sanctions may be applied to a student guilty of commission of an academic offense:

Assignment of any grade on a paper, examination, or other material related to the offense.

Assignment of any grade for the course in which the offense occurred.

Forced withdrawal from the class in which the offense occurred.

Suspension from the University for a specified period of time. Suspension includes exclusion from all classes and termination of student status and all related privileges and activities. A student who violates any of the terms of suspension shall be subject to further discipline in the form of permanent dismissal.

Dismissal from the University: This sanction is final and susceptible to reconsideration only after review by the University President.

Disposition of Cases of Academic Offenses

Responsibility of the Instructor

An instructor who has evidence that a student has committed an academic offense shall attempt to arrange a personal conference with the student to present the evidence of the offense, to give the student an opportunity to state his/her case, and to make known to the student the charges and possible sanctions which may be imposed and/or recommended. If the student is not available for or fails to attend such a conference, the instructor shall proceed to inform the student of the nature of the evidence, the charges and the possible sanctions by certified mail, with copies to the Chairperson and Dean of the college in which the student is enrolled. The instructor may then proceed to assign any grade on a paper or examination related to the offense, assign any grade for the course in which the offense occurred, or recommend to his or her Chairperson a more severe sanction.

Responsibility of the Chairperson

After reviewing the report from the instructor and making any appropriate investigation, the Chairperson will forward the materials, along with his or her own recommendation, to the Dean of the college in which the offense occurred.

Responsibility of the Dean

After reviewing the material furnished and conducting any appropriate investigation, the Dean of the college in which the offense occurred will forward the material, along with recommendation for suspension or dismissal, to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. If the sanction is forced withdrawal from the course, the Dean of the college in which the student is enrolled will take action to implement the withdrawal and will notify the student by certified mail. Copies of the notice will be sent to the instructor, the Chairperson of the Department in which the offense occurred, and to the University Registrar.

Responsibility of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

After reviewing the file and conducting any appropriate investigation, the Vice President shall forward the file, along with the recommendation, to the Vice President for Student Affairs, who will in turn forward the case to the All-University Court for processing according to the standard procedure of that court.

Right of the Student to Appeal

The student shall have the right to appeal the allegation of his or her guilt to each higher level of authority up to and including the All-University Court. However, the assignment of a grade by the instructor on a paper or examination involved in the offense shall not be subject to appeal.

Other sanctions may be appealed to the next higher level of authority up to and including the All-University Court. Such appeal must be filed in writing within 15 days of notification of the sanction.

The student shall have the right to attend and participate in a class until a decision is made on his/her appeal.